Her smirk makes my eye twitch.
“It was fresh, filling, and nothing short of delicious. My crepe for dinner might have been even better.”
Rory’s eyes twinkle at me, the same shade as mine. And our mother’s.
Pride sinks in through my nervous system, replacing the uncertainty that’s lived there for weeks, and I smile back at her.
My little sister keeps going. “Have you seen the Heights’ Facebook group? It’s all anyone is talking about. ‘The food is amazing,’ ‘the servers were fantastic,’ and there is so much buzz about this chef from New York.” One eyebrow slinks up her slim face, waiting for a response.
I flump down in the booth next to her, and Wyatt grumbles as he’s tossed in the air just a bit at the motion. They scoot down as best they can to fit me in, but I don’t care. My dogs are barking; I’ll take any relief at this point. Even a quarter of my ass on this seat next to my sister, across from my best friend.
“Yes,” Gracie giggles. “He’s been quite the topic of discussion.”
I think I can hear Wyatt’s scowl intensifying down the table, and it can only be a sign of how exhausted I am after the day that I don’t take this chance to poke the bear and aggravate him, and therefore my sister.
“As long as the food was good,” I find myself saying.
It’s become my mantra lately, all the times that I need something to hold onto that doesn’t feel like I’m losing thisbattle with Wilder.If the food is good, that’s what matters most, I tell myself.
He might drive me crazy, but if guests are happy, I will live with it for these few months. Samuel and Charlie can study his recipes and learn what he’s doing, and we’ll be just fine without him come fall.
“The food was the best the Heights has ever had,” Rory says, a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “Way better than what used to be here.” She manages to disparage our father without even saying his name, which should be impressive, but words are her weapon and this is nothing new.
I twitch uncomfortably in place at the booth, and only partially because two-thirds of my body is sliding off of the seat.
“I liked the diner,” I bring myself to say.
“Yeah,” Gracie jumps in to back me up, hand outstretched toward me on the tabletop. “It was dependable, and I have so many childhood memories here.”
“If you didn’t mind a little crunch in your mashed potatoes, or some extratexturein your meat,” Ronnie says, snickering.
“Hey!” I shout, ready to defend.
“That’s not half as bad as the prick who ran it.” Rory couldn’t sound more scathing if someone was trying to sell her a fake Chanel bag as a real one.
My blood boils, raging through my system, lighting me up to fight back, to speak up, to not cower down on the subject for once. But before all that hot-headedness makes its way down to my mouth, she dismisses the subject entirely.
“But we’re not here to talk about bad times. We’re here to celebrateyou, Alexis. Congratulations! I can’t say it’s all downhill from here, but you are off to a really great start.”
Rory leans in to wrap an arm around me, and I let my head fall on my little sister’s shoulder.
Because it has been hard. I don’t know what I’m doing or how I got into this mess. But she’s helped me get to this point, and I am thankful for that.
That bitch of a voice in my head can’t help but wonder,Would she still be congratulating me if she knew I was in touch with Dad?
That he’s partnered in this with me?
She wouldn’t be. I don’t need her fancy fucking degree to know that much.
“Hey, Boss! Can we borrow you?” Wilder’s voice booms through the emptied out dining room, and it’s my cue to stand.
At once, my feet complain. I knew it would be a lot of time on my feet working in a restaurant, but I don’t think I realized just howsorethat would make me.
I need a bath overflowing with bubbles, and an even longer session with Randy to unwind and reset before tomorrow.
“Sorry!” Rory calls out to Wilder, whose head is sticking out of the kitchen door. “We had to borrow her to tell her how fabulous she’s doing. You can have her back now.”
Rory grins as she slides out of the booth and wraps me in a hug that feels almost like Mom’s did.
